Epic Race – Epic Racer
by Mark Cullen
from Seattle
This is not a day that US distance fans will soon forget. A 1-3 finish in the men’s 1500m was not anything that anyone would have predicted.
Cole Hocker (US, Oregon) used the withering kick he is known for to pass Jakob Ingebrigtsen on the inside with less than 50 meters to go. Great Britain’s Josh Kerr was struggling to find a kick to match Hocker’s, and it just wasn’t there.
Biggest surprise of all was Yared Nuguse (US), who stormed down the homestretch, almost caught Kerr, and won a magnificent bronze.
After a year of sniping between an often icy Ingebrigtsen and a ‘yeah, whatever’ Kerr, it was Hocker, the quiet one, who won.
Gotta give Ingebrigsten credit – he ran a fast pace and was committed to his plan. The 400m splits were 54.9-56.7-55.8, with 800m in 1:52.2 (pause and absorb that) and 1200m in 2:47.3. The runners were running single file most of the race; it’s hard to imagine running in a pack that fast.
Things fell apart for Ingebrigsten only after 1400m at this pace; his crucial mistake was letting Hocker go by on the inside, thereby giving Hocker a clear path to the finish.
The finish times are worthy of being repeated here:
1. Cole Hocker (US), 3:27.65 – Olympic record
2. Josh Kerr (GBR), 3:27.79 – National record
3. Yared Nuguse (US), 3:27.80 – personal best
4. Jakob Ingebrigsten (Nor) - 3:28.24
5. Hobbs Kessler (US), 3:29.45 – personal best
6. Niels Laros (Ned), 3:29.54 – National record
Note that the US finished 1-3-5, with Hobbs Kessler 5th at age 21.
This ranks among the greatest US distance races ever run, and is reminiscent of the wholly unexpected 2017 US 1-2 steeplechase performance at the London World Championships as Emma Coburn and Courtney Frerichs won gold and silver.
*Greece’s Miltiades Tentoglou now has two Olympic gold long jump titles in addition to his World title. The Budapest World champion in 2023, Tentoglou has also won back-to-back Olympic titles. Only one other jumper has achieved that distinction: none other than Carl Lewis.
Tentoglou put the meet out of reach with his second round 8.48 (27-10), while Jamaica’s Wayne Pinnock chased him with six fair jumps and a best of 8.36 (27-5 ¼) for silver.
Italy’s Mattia Furlani jumped 8.34 (27-4 ½) twice – in the first and fifth rounds, to nail down bronze.
In an event once dominated by the US, not a single US jumper made the final.
*Hug of the day went to Camryn Rogers, Canada’s Olympic hammer throw champion who won today, with Ethan Kratzberg, Canada’s Olympic hammer throw champion who won yesterday. They are two of the strongest people on the planet, and I thought they might crush each others’ ribs.
A surprise who shouldn’t have been, US Olympic Trials champion Annette Echikunwoke, won silver, with China’s young (21) and exuberant Jie Zhao won bronze.
The distances were relatively modest today; medals were there for the taking at 74.27/243-6 (bronze), 75.48/247-8 (silver), and 76.97/252-6 (gold).
Meanwhile, former World Champion DeAnna Price (US) fouled her first throw and did not advance to the final eight.
*The pace in the women’s steeple was so fast from the start that the pack started to string out after only 600m. The pace was swift: 2:56.21 for the first kilo, 5:58.20 (or sub-9:00 minute pace) at two kilos, with an Olympic Record finish time of 8:52.76 for Winfred Yavi of Brunei.
The time results were deep, as Peruth Chemutai of Uganda finished 2nd in a Ugandan National Record of 8:53.34 NR, while Faith Perotich of Kenya scored a PB and a bronze medal with her stellar 8:55.15.
Chemutai now has silver to go with her 2021 Tokyo gold, and Cherotich now has silver to go with last year’s World bronze.
The race was down to three with less than a lap to go, with Chemutai in the lead. Yavi caught her with 300m to go but didn’t pass her until after the last water jump.
The race was historically deep with France’s Alice Finot setting an Area Record of 8:58.67 in 4th place after running a spectacular last lap.
A remarkable 4 steeplers were under 9:00 minutes!
US finalists Courtney Wayment (9:13.50) and Valarie Constein (9:34.08) finished 12th and 15th, respectively.
If you have a chance to see Yavi’s post-race celebration on film, it’s a wondrous dance of joy.
*Gabby Thomas (US) dominated a women’s 200m field that included the new Olympic 100m champion, Julien Alfred of St. Lucia. Thomas ran one of the greatest corners of her life and exploded onto the straightaway. She engaged the afterburners and recorded a decisive victory over Alfred.
Thomas won in a time of 21.83, a .25 second margin over Alfred, who won silver in 22.08 - thereby increasing St. Lucia’s medal haul to two!
Brittany Brown (US) won bronze in 22.20. Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita went 4-5, and these 200m results bode well for both Great Britain and the US in the sprint relay.
In another series of extraordinarily close finishes in these Games, Asher-Smith, Neita, and Nigeria’s Favour Ofili finished in 22.22, 22.23, and 22.24. And the difference between bronze and 4th was .02 – positively cavernous for this meet.
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